DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE in United States history, the act (or document) by which the 13 original States of the Union broke their colonial allegiance to Great Britain in 1776. The controversy preceding the war (see AMERICAN REV OLUTION) gradually shifted from one primarily upon economic policy to one upon issues of pure politics and sovereignty, and the acts of Congress, as viewed today, seem to have been carrying it, from the beginning, inevitably into revolution; but there was ap parently no general and conscious drift toward independence until near the close of 1775. The first colony to give official counte nance to separation as a solution of colonial grievances was North Carolina, which, on April 12, 1776, authorized its delegates in Congress to join with others in a declaration to that end. The first Colony to instruct its delegates to take the actual initiative was Virginia, in accordance with whose instructions—voted on May 15-Richard Henry Lee, on June 7, moved a resolution "that these United Colonies are, and of right ought to be, free and inde pendent States." John Adams of Massachusetts seconded the mo tion. The conservatives could only plead the unpreparedness of public opinion, and the radicals conceded delay on condition that a committee be meanwhile at work on a declaration "to the effect of the said . . . resolution," to serve as a preamble thereto when adopted. This committee consisted of Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Roger Sherman and Robert R. Liv ingston. To Jefferson the committee entrusted the actual prepara tion of the paper. On July 2, by a vote of 12 States-10 voting unanimously, New York not voting, and Pennsylvania and Dela ware casting divided ballots (3 votes in the negative)—Congress adopted the resolution of independence ; and on the 4th, Jeffer son's "Declaration." The 4th has always been the day celebrated, the decisive act of the end being quite forgotten in the memory of the day on which that act was published to the world. "Inde pendence Day" is a holiday in all the States and Territories of the United States. It should also be noted that as Congress had al ready, on Dec. 6, 1775, formally disavowed allegiance to parlia ment, the Declaration recites its array of grievances against the crown, and breaks allegiance to the crown. Moreover, on May I o, 1776, Congress had recommended to the people of the Colonies that they form such new governments as their representatives should deem desirable ; and in the accompanying statement of causes, formulated on May 15, had declared it to be "absolutely irreconcilable to reason and good conscience for the people of these colonies now to take the oaths and affirmations necessary for the support of any government under the crown of Great Britain," whose authority ought to be "totally suppressed" and taken over by the people—a determination which, as John Adams said, inevitably involved a struggle for absolute independence, in volving as it did the extinguishment of all authority, whether of crown, parliament or nation.
Though the Declaration reads as "In Congress, July 4, 1776. The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of Amer ica," New York's adhesion was in fact not voted until the 9th, nor announced to Congress until the r5th—the Declaration being unanimous, however, when it was ordered, on the i9th, to be en grossed and signed under the above title. As read before the army meanwhile, it was headed "In Congress, July 4, 1776. A Declara tion by the representatives of the United States of America in General Congress assembled." Contrary to the inference naturally to be drawn from the form of the document no signatures were attached on the 4th. As adopted by Congress, the Declaration differs only in details from the draft prepared by Jefferson; cen sures of the British people and a noble denunciation of slavery were omitted, appeals to Providence were inserted, and verbal improvements made for the sake of terseness and measured state ment. The document is full of Jefferson's fervent spirit and per sonality, and its ideals were those to which his life was conse crated. It is the best known and the noblest of American State papers. Though open to controversy on some issues of historical fact, not flawless in logic, necessarily partisan in tone and purpose, it is a justificatory preamble, a party manifesto and appeal, rea soned enough to carry conviction, fervent enough to inspire en thusiasm. It mingles—as in all the controversy of the time, but with a literary skill and political address elsewhere unrivalled— stale disputation with philosophy. The rights of man lend dignity to the rights of Englishmen, and the broad outlook of a world wide appeal, and the elevation of noble principles, relieve minute criticisms of an administrative system.
Jefferson's political theory was that of Locke, whose words the Declaration echoes. Both Locke and Jefferson wrote simply of political equality, political freedom. Even within this limitation, the idealistic formulae of both were at variance with the actual conditions of their time. The variance would have been greater had their phrases been applied as humanitarian formulae to in dustrial and social conditions. The Lockian theory fitted beauti fully the question of colonial dependence, and was applied to that by America with inexorable logic ; it fitted the question of individual political rights, and was applied to them in 1776, but not in 169o; it did not apply to non-political conditions of indi vidual liberty, a fact realized by many at the time—and it is true that such an application would have been more inconsistent in America in 1776 as regards the negroes, than in England in 1690 as regarded freemen. The Declaration's influence upon American legal and constitutional development has been profound. Locke, says Leslie Stephen, popularized "a convenient formula for en forcing the responsibility of governors"--but his theories were those of an individual philosopher—while by the Declaration a State, for the first time in history, founded its life on democratic idealism, pronouncing governments to exist for securing the happi ness of the people, and to derive their just powers from the con sent of the governed. It was a democratic instrument, and the revolution a democratic movement ; in South Carolina and the Middle Colonies particularly, the cause of independence was bound up with popular movements against aristocratic elements. Congress was fond of appealing to "the purest maxims of repre sentation"; it sedulously measured public opinion; took no great step without an explanatory address to the country; cast its influ ence with the people in local struggles as far as it could; appealed to them directly over the heads of conservative assemblies; and in general stirred up democracy. The Declaration gave the people recognition equivalent to promises, which, as fast as new govern ments were instituted, were converted by written constitutions into rights, which have since then steadily extended.
For Ioi years after the Declaration was proclaimed it had no permanent home. During its wanderings, it found shelter in io cities and 5 states, twice narrowly escaped destruction by fire, and in both the Revolutionary War and the War of 1812 was nearly captured by the British. In 1894, when the text of the manu script had been dimmed by more than 5o years' exposure to light and its signatures damaged by too frequent rolling of the parch ment, the document was placed in a safe in the State Department library. Finally, in 1921, it was removed to the Library of Con gress, where it is on permanent exhibition in a shrine specially constructed for its preservation and safekeeping.
The signers were: John Hancock (1737-92), of Massa chusetts, president; Button Gwinnett (c. 1732-77), Lyman Hall (1725-90), George Walton (174o-1804), of Georgia; Wil liam Hooper (1742-90), Joseph Hewes (1730-79), John Penn (1741-88) , of North Carolina; Edward Rutledge 18o0), Thomas Heyward, Jr. (1746-1809), Thomas Lynch, Jr. Arthur Middleton (1742-87), of South Carolina; Samuel Chase (1741-1811), William Paca (1740-99), Thomas Stone (1743-87), Charles Carroll (1737-1832) of Carrollton, Md. ; George Wythe (1726-1806), Richard Henry Lee (1732-94), Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826), Benjamin Harrison (174o-91), Thomas Nelson, Jr. (1738-89), Francis Lightfoot Lee Carter Braxton (1736-97), of Virginia; Robert Morris i806), Benjamin Rush (1745-1813), Benjamin Franklin (1706 90), John Morton (1724-77), George Clymer (1739-1813), James Smith (c. 1719-1806), George Taylor (1716-81), James Wilson (1742-98), George Ross (173o-79), of Pennsylvania; Caesar Rodney (1728-84), George Read (1733-98), Thomas McKean of Delaware; William Floyd (1734-1821), Philip Livingston (1716-78), Francis Lewis (1713-1803), Lewis Morris (1726-98), of New York; Richard Stockton (1730-81), John Witherspoon (1722-94), Francis Hopkinson (1737-91), John Hart (1708-8o), Abraham Clark (1726-94), of New Jersey; Josiah Bartlett , William Whipple (173o-85), Mat thew Thornton (1714-1803), of New Hampshire; Samuel Adams (1722-1803), John Adams (1735-1826), Robert Treat Paine (173 , Elbridge Gerry (1744-1814) , of Massachusetts ; Stephen Hopkins (1707-85), William Ellery (1727-1820), of Rhode Island ; Roger Sherman (1721-93) , Samuel Huntington (1732-96), William Williams (1731-1811 ), Oliver Wolcott (1726 97), of Connecticut. Not all the men who rendered the greatest services to independence were in Congress in July 1776; not all who voted for the Declaration ever signed it ; not all who signed it were members when it was adopted. The greater part of the signatures were certainly attached on Aug. 2 ; but at least six were attached later. With one exception-that of Thomas McKean, present on July 4, but not on Aug. 2, and permitted to sign in 1781-all were added before printed copies with names attached were first authorized by Congress for public circulation in Jan. BIBLIOGRAPHY.-H. Friedenwald, The Declaration of Independence, Bibliography.-H. Friedenwald, The Declaration of Independence, An Interpretation and an Analysis (19o4) ; J. H. Hazleton, The Decla ration of Independence: its History (1906) ; C. L. Becker, The Dec laration of Independence, a Study of the History of Political Ideals (1922) ; M. Chamberlain, John Adams . . . with other Essays and Addresses (1898) , containing, "The Authentication of the Declaration of Independence" (same in Massachusetts Historical Society, Pro ceedings, Nov. 1884) ; M. C. Tyler, Literary History of the American Revolution, vol i. (1897) ; W. F. Dana in Harvard Law Review, vol. xiii., p. 319 (1900) ; G. E. Ellis in J. Winsor, Narrative and Critical History of America, vol. vi. (1888) ; R. Frothingham, Rise of the Republic, ch. ii. (1872) ; and A. J. Beveridge, "Sources of the Decla ration of Independence" in Pennsylvania Mag. of Hist. and Biog., vol. 1. (1926) . There are various collected editions of biographies of the signers; probably the best are John Sanderson's Biography of the Signers of the Declaration of Independence (1823-27), and William Brotherhead's Book of the Signers (186o, new ed., 1875). A facsimile of the original parchment in uninjured condition is inserted in P. Force's America Archives, 5th series, vol. i. at p. 1595 (1848) .